Tag Archives: vegetarian

Avocado and Apple Salad with Sea Vegetables

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This is a great salad and I can’t wait to make it again! I have been experimenting with kelp noodles recently and came across a mix of “sea vegetables” (which was a variety of seaweeds) in the local grocery store. I found a packet of the “Sea Tangle” brand of fresh seaweed in the refrigerator aisle. It’s supposed to be high in calcium and iron, and known to promote thyroid function and skin support. the seaweed was crispy and tasted fresh and good! The only downside, as my husband likes to point out, is that you are paying for “not a lot of calories”. Well, however you want to look at that 🙂 these are a great alternative to starchy pasta noodles and a great way to try some new foods!

avocado and apple seaweed salad blog (2)avocado and apple seaweed salad blog (1)Ingredients

  • 2 Tbsp olive oil
  • 2 tsps. lemon juice
  • 1 avocado, peeled and thinly sliced
  • 1 apple, peeled, cored and chopped
  • 3 oz. sea vegetable mix

Directions

  • Whisk olive oil, lemon juice
  • Add avocado, apple, and sea vegetables and gently toss
  • Serve fresh or refrigerate for a while
  • Enjoy!

dit-elle-Esther

 

Healthy Chocolate Chip Mint NiceCream

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Ever since I successfully made a Healthy Cherry Garcia, I’ve been dying to make a Mint Chocolate Chip version.  I’ve had this recipe in my mind for a LONG time, and finally got around to making it last night.  I might play around with it a little more, but overall, I think it was pretty good for the first try!Blog Healty Mint Chocolate Chip NiceCream-1 Blog Healty Mint Chocolate Chip NiceCream-2 Blog Healty Mint Chocolate Chip NiceCream-3Ingredients (serves 3-4)

  • 3 Frozen Bananas (cut into 2-3 inch pieces prior to freezing)
  • 1/2 cup frozen Avocado (cut into cubes then frozen)
  • 1/3 cup Unsweetened Almond Milk
  • Half of a vanilla bean (slice open and scrape inside out)
  • 1/2 Teaspoon Peppermint Extract
  • Garnish with dark chocolate chipsBlog Healty Mint Chocolate Chip NiceCream-4

Directions

Put frozen bananas, Avocado, almond milk, peppermint extract and inside of vanilla bean in a high speed blender or Cuisinart, and pulse/stop and stir occasionally until it gets to a creamy consistency.  You might need to add more almond milk.

Maya loves to push the button 🙂 Blog Healty Mint Chocolate Chip NiceCream-5

That’s it!!

Garnish with the dark chocolate chips (although, omit this if you are strict on certain diets). Blog Healty Mint Chocolate Chip NiceCream-6

Enjoy!  We did 😉dit-elle-Lauren

Dill Ranch Dressing

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My favorite dressing at PCC is this fresh “dill ranch” dressing. They only sell it in small one serving sizes with salads to go, so I looked up the recipe, made it, and it turned out just as excellent as the in store version!

Here you go! 🙂

dill ranch dressing and veggies blog

Ingredients

  • 1/2 cup mayonnaise
  • 1/2 cup plain yogurt
  • 1 teaspoon garlic powder
  • 1 teaspoon onion powder (I omitted because I didn’t have this ingredient, still tasted great!)
  • 1 teaspoon dried dill
  • 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
  • 1 tablespoon fresh parsley (optional)
  • 1 to 2 tablespoons milk (to make thinner if desired)

Directions

  • Add all ingredients to a bowl and stir together with a whisk until the herbs and spices are mixed evenly.
  • For a thinner dressing add milk, 1 tablespoon at a time, until desired consistency is reached.
  • Refrigerate until ready to serve!
  • Serve with fresh cut vegetables or salad.

 

Thanks PCC Natural Markets for this recipe!

dit-elle-Esther

Balsamic Rosemary Beets

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This is a wonderful paleo side dish any time of year. It calls for fresh rosemary but you could also use the dried herb. Beets are nutritious and delicious, especially when roasted and seasoned.

roasted beets with balsamic and rosemary blog

Ingredients

  • 4 medium beets, peeled and cubed
  • 1 Tbsp olive oil
  • 1 Tbsp balsamic vinegar
  • 1 Tbsp fresh rosemary
  • 1/2 tsp freshly ground black pepper
  • 1/4 tsp sea salt

Directions

  • Preheat oven to 400.
  • In medium bowl, combine all ingredients and mix thoroughly
  • Transfer to glass baking dish and cover with aluminum foil
  • Bake for 45 minutes
  • Remove foil and bake uncovered, for another 10-20 minutes until beets are tender when pierced with a fork
  • Serve hot, warm or cool

Thank you Paleo Cooking from Elana’s Pantry which has many more excellent recipes!

dit-elle-Esther

Coffee and Vanilla Ice Cream Popsicles

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Busy making fruit popsicles for the kids? Make a few coffee and vanilla ones as a special treat for YOU!

vanilla coffee popsicles blog (2)vanilla coffee popsicles blog (1)

Ingredients

  • Vanilla ice cream
  • Coffee (cold!)

Directions

  • Fill your popsicle mold with a scoop of ice cream
  • Pour in coffee to fill up rest of mold
  • Freeze

Enjoy on a hot day!

dit-elle-Esther

 

Grilled Onion, Cantaloupe, Goat Cheese, Almond, and Spinach Salad

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One of my favorite things to make in the summer is a grilled fruit salad.  It may sound strange, but after you try it once, you will be hooked!

Blog Grilled Onion Cantaloupe Goat Cheese Almond and Spinach Salad-1The cantaloupe in this particular salad isn’t grilled, but when it’s mixed with the caramalized grilled onions, it cooks them juuuuust a bit, and it’s so good!

Ingredients (to serve 4)

  • 1 Cantaloupe (cut into bite sized pieces..
  • 1 large sweet onion
  • 4 Tablespoons of goat cheese
  • Handful of diced almonds
  • 4-6 Cups of salad greens.  Your choice, but I like to use a mix that has both spinach and arugula, because those wilt nicely.
  • Extra Virgin Olive Oil (amount not measured, but will describe in instructions :))
  • Sea Salt and Pepper
  • Trader Joe’s Reduced Balsamic Glaze.

Directions

  • Light your grill and set it to a medium heat.
  • Cut your onion into 1/2 inch slices.
  • Lightly coat onions on both sides in a tiny bit of olive oil and salt and pepper
  • Set on the grill for 8-10 minutes
  • While the onions are grilling, dice up the cantaloupe and almonds.  Take both the cantaloupe and almonds, along with broken goat cheese and toss over the salad greens in a big bowl.Blog Grilled Onion Cantaloupe Goat Cheese Almond and Spinach Salad-2
  • Once the onions are caramelized, dice them up and toss into the salad.
  • Drizzle a tint bit of olive oil (a little goes a long way!) and Trader Joe’s Glaze, and a bit of sea salt and pepper over and toss it all together.

The creamy  goat cheese will melt with the caramelized onion.  That all blended with the light olive oil, the balsamic and the moisture from the cantaloupe…SO GOOD!!!!

And so good for you!

If you liked this recipe, then you might enjoy these two others as well.

Grilled Chicken, Onions, and Peaches with Avocado Tomato Salsa

Grilled Chicken, Onions, and Plums, and Goat Cheese Salad

Blog Grilled Onion Cantaloupe Goat Cheese Almond and Spinach Salad-3Enjoy!

dit-elle-Lauren

 

Strawberry Rhubarb Crisp with Coconut Topping

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You know summer is just around the corner when rhubarb is ready for the picking! Love rhubarb? So do we! Check out the “Rhubarb Collection” of recipes below, in addition to my latest FAVORITE Strawberry Rhubarb Crisp with Coconut Topping ! 🙂

rhubarb strawberry paleo crisp blog (2)rhubarb strawberry paleo crisp blog (1)

Ingredients

Filling

  • 6 large stalks of rhubarb, cleaned and cut into 1/8″ slices (about 1 1/2 cups)
  • 2 lbs fresh strawberries, hulled
  • 2 Tbsp arrowroot powder (this is a thickener)
  • 1/4 cup freshly squeezed orange juice

Topping

  • 1 cup unsweetened shredded coconut
  • 1/4 cup golden flax meal
  • 2 Tbsp coconut flour
  • 1/4 cup coconut oil or butter
  • 2 Tbsp honey

Directions

  • Oven to 350
  • For filling: place rhubarb and strawberries in a large bowl
  • In a small bowl, mix orange juice and arrowroot powder until dissolved and then toss thoroughly with fruit
  • For topping: pulse together shredded coconut, flax, coconut flour in food processor
  • Add oil or butter and honey and pulse until dough forms
  • Sprinkle topping over fruit
  • Cover dish with tinfoil and bake 30-40 minutes until bubbling.. remove tinfoil and bake an additional 10 minutes until topping is crispy and golden
  • Serve warm!

I love making paleo dishes and then adding something totally non-paleo like ice-cream. 🙂 This crisp is on the tarter side, so vanilla ice-cream or simply some coconut milk actually adds a delicious balance! Without the ice-cream, this dish is paleo, gluten-free, dairy free, soy free, vegetarian, vegan.. you get the picture. Enjoy however it works best for you! 🙂

Thank you for the recipes and inspiration Elana’s Pantry.

Enjoy!

dit-elle-Esther

Baked Goat Cheese with Honey, Pine Nuts and Rosemary

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This is a super easy, super elegant and delicious appetizer! Bake a patty of goat cheese, topped with Pine Nuts, Rosemary and drizzled with honey.

baked goat cheese pinenuts honey rosemary blog (2)baked goat cheese pinenuts honey rosemary blog (1)

Ingredients

  • Goat cheese
  • Pine nuts
  • Honey
  • Fresh or dried rosemary

Directions

  • Heat oven to 400
  • Put cheese in oven proof dish and top with pine nuts, and optionally dried or fresh rosemary and drizzle with honey (you can also use fresh rosemary as garnish after this is baked, as shown in the photo)
  • Bake for 20 minutes or until edges are brown
  • Let cool for a bit and serve! Enjoy!

dit-elle-Esther

Sweet Potato, Carrot, Onion Hash

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Truth be told, these started out in my mind as pancakes (clearly that didn’t happen!).  I’m not really sure they are a “hash”, but I couldn’t think of a good name for them.  They reminded me of the consistency of polenta, but I didn’t want to confuse anyone any more than I already was haha.

Whatever it ended up being still tasted really good, so it all worked out in the end 😉

I like that the carrots and onions add some additional nutrients/health benefits, and the eggs add a little protein!Blog Whole30 Paleo Sweet Potato Carrot Onion Mash-1 Blog Whole30 Paleo Sweet Potato Carrot Onion Mash-2What you need… (would feed 4-6 people)

  • One Large Sweet Potato
  • 1 medium onion
  • Handful of baby carrots (about 1/2 cup)
  • 1/2 Teaspoon crushed garlic
  • 2 eggs
  • Salt and pepper to taste
  • 2 Tablespoons Olive Oil (or oil of your choosing)

What to do…

Blog Whole30 Paleo Sweet Potato Carrot Onion Mash-3

  • Chop up  your sweet potato, onion, and carrots, and toss them into a Cuisinart.  Pulse until all finely diced.  Maya LOVES this part, and it’s an easy way to get your child involved in the  process 🙂
  • Whisk eggs and garlic together and add into the Cuisinart.  Pulsing a few more times, and scraping down the edges to blend.
  • Salt and pepper to taste.
  • In a large frying pan, heat oil until nice and hot.
  • Pour mixture into pan (I had to do it in two batches).  Wait until it gets nice and brown before flipping.  I loved the crispy parts in there!
  • Honestly, I made 4 little pancakes the first batch and attempted to keep them in tact.  They fell apart, so I just mixed them together in the end…Blog Whole30 Paleo Sweet Potato Carrot Onion Mash-4I served it with fish and a variation of my staple Mango Avocado Salad, and it was yummy!  I think it would be amazing with a fried egg and avocado too for brunch!  Really, the possibilities are endless 😉

Enjoy!dit-elle-Lauren

Mango, Avocado, Goat Cheese, and Arugula Salad

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One of my favorite combinations is mango and avocado.  It’s refreshing and light, yet filling with the good fat from the avocado.  Add in a little goat cheese, drizzle with a balsamic glaze + Olive oil, then toss over arugula, and you have a ridiculously easy and delicious summer salad!Blog Mango Avocado Goat Cheese Arugula Salad-1 Blog Mango Avocado Goat Cheese Arugula Salad-2 Blog Mango Avocado Goat Cheese Arugula Salad-3

 Ingredients

  • One Mango
  • 1 Avocado
  • 1 oz Goat Cheese (I love the individually wrapped oz medallions that you get at Trader Joe’s.  NOT AN AD, just love them 🙂  They stay fresh longer, and…portion control!! haha)
  • Balsamic Reduction ( you can reduce your own by boiling Balsamic Vinegar, and then simmering on the cooktop until thick), OR…you can cheat and use this from Trader Joe’s 🙂
  • Extra Virgin Olive Oil
  • Serve over a bed of Arugula or spinach would be great too!

What you do…

  • Put a few handfuls of Arugula in your bowl.
  • Dice Up your mango, toss them in.
  • Dice up your avocado, toss them in.
  • Crumble your goat cheese over everything.
  • Drizzle with Balsamic Glaze + Olive Oild, and that’s it!

Enjoy!dit-elle-Lauren